Answer: When Costco Warehouse submitted its first permit applications in December for a parcel of land west of Menards in Grand Chute, it appears it discontinued talks with prior sites under consideration.

According to a letter sent to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in late December, Costco had evaluated seven other sites in the greater Appleton area over a period of two-and-a-half years starting in mid-2011. It ended up focusing on the property shown here, which is bound by Wisconsin Avenue, McCarthy Road, Mayflower Drive and a proposed extension of Integrity Way in Grand Chute.

For a business to get a DNR permit to build on a site that impacts wetlands, which this site does, the DNR requires proof that the business looked at numerous other alternatives before settling on the site.

"Over the last few years, Costco has spent a significant amount of time and resources on seven other parcels for potential development," wrote Theodore R. Johnson, Costco's authorized representative, in a Dec. 22, 2014, letter to Scott Koehnke, DNR water management specialist.

Addresses were not identified in the document for confidentiality reasons, he said, but he would share more information on the seven passed-over sites if the DNR requested it. Those sites ranged in size from 11.02 acres to 20.3 acres and were evaluated between August 2011 and December 2013.

The letter gives broad clues to location and tells why each was unsuitable.

A redevelopment site near the Fox River Mall was rejected because "existing tenants' terms made the site cost prohibitive" and an existing shopping center considered for redevelopment was rejected because "lender and tenants refused to negotiate acceptable terms."

Another site that required relocation of two existing businesses was "cost prohibitive" and had a "potential impact to existing floodplain."

The smallest site was said to be too small and had "suspected wetland issues." The remaining sites were too far south or east from the target market, which was identified broadly as the west side.

The DNR's Koehnke said the retailer's representatives applied for a wetland permit last week for the Grand Chute site. It will take between 60 and 90 days to review, gather additional information if needed and allow public comment.

"Based on that information, we'll make a decision as far as approval of the permit goes," Koehnke said. "It would include a determination of an in-lieu fee — what they're required to pay — and the number of acres they have to mitigate for. It would include all the conditions that go along with what they have to do to be in compliance on the site."

Prior DNR documents indicate the retailer hopes to begin construction in June and open its store in October.